Chapter 176: Battle Preparations.
Hao Ren consoled Han Lingshi profusely before he sent her to cultivate. Agni had fallen asleep after dinner as well. All day long she would have fun at the Han Mansion and on the weekends Hao Ren and Han Lingshi would take her out as well. She was having a happy childhood.
The young man took a deep breath as he sat in the study room. He knew that Lingshi was not concerned in vain. If Xiao Mei cannot find the existence of the people who were coming after him then the degree of danger was really high.
He asked, "Xiao Mei, who initiated this contract?"
Xiao Mei replied, "The Rose Family of the Hawk Nations, they have a chair on the big tables of almost every bank in the world at the moment. They work from the shadows and they hate when someone make major achievements in the field of business. The lightning projector will leave the companies backed by them in dust and thus they hired the best mercenary to be done with you."
Hao Ren nodded and asked, "Is there any way for you to hammer them?"
Xiao Mei replied, "There are many people in the world who have placed bounties on some of their members. However, they have a private army. So, it is a bit difficult."
The young man nodded and leaned back in his chair as he said, "Make sure that all the contracts against them are taken care of. Handle the private forces neatly. Okay?"
Xiao Mei paused and said, "Boss, someone has even placed contracts against a few year old toddlers as well."
Hao Ren replied, "Thank you for the reminder. Ignore the contracts targeting the children. Deal with the dirty ones first. Clean up the trash."
Xiao Mei acknowledged and then got to work. In the meantime, Hao Ren began to go through the system mall. He was carefully searching for the means that could allow him to detect and diffuse this situation. He was not afraid that the enemy would hurt him, because he was a cultivator, his strength and senses were stronger.
Han Lingshi was aware of this, the only thing they were worried about at the moment was Agni. The people who were ready kill someone for money, they would not mind harming a child to push the target into a corner.
After half an hour, Hao Ren shortlisted three things, one of them was called a book on protection jade. This book described the creation method of a pendant that could be worn by the person and infused with a wisp of spiritual energy to create a protection barrier around the wearer in times of danger.
The second was the location talisman. This talisman would allow you to find the location of a person as long as you have something that belongs to the person. And the last one was a straw doll. This doll was not exactly a cultivation artifact, but a witchcraft one. It was just as big as a palm but it cost a bulky hundred billion.
These three were going to be Hao Ren's trump cards to protect those around him. He made the purchase and Xiao Mei replied, "Boss, two hundred million dollars just vanished from the Red Banner secret account."
Hao Ren replied, "Do not worry, I know where they went."
The system had tagged all the dirty money to be his personal assets and how he used them did not matter. So, it deducted the money from that account only. Hao Ren asked, "System, where are the goods?"
*Ding: Thank you for shopping with the System Mall. You can find your purchased objects inside your space ring.*
Hao Ren nodded and took out the things before placing them on the table. He looked at the talisman and found the rectangular yellow paper to be inscribed with a very complicated cursive font and mandala patterns. His head hurt just from gazing at it.
The young man placed it back and then picked up the small straw doll. He could swear that this doll gave him a very ominous feeling. Thankfully it would only activate when the person who held it was in mortal danger.
Then he picked up the pendant book, and began reading it. He was already at the peak of spirit gathering realm, and missing one night did not matter for him. He asked Xiao Mei to contact a jade dealer in the city and paid five times the market price to buy as much emerald and white jade as possible.
He also asked the person to deliver tools for carving jade along with a few precision drills and stuff. While the jade was about to be delivered, he began to watch videos and conduct mental practice on how to carve jade beads. He was going to load Agni with charms and ensure that if some bastard manages to attack her, they would die.
The only problem by logic that he found was how these beads would only react in times when the wearer was in mortal danger. Thinking about this, he decided to carve some beads for the guards around her as well.
...
Just when Hao Ren was making jade pendants, a man was standing atop a high rise building, gazing at the horizon. A few minutes later, four more people arrived on the top of the building. They were all wearing black face masks and clothes. However, two of them were women and three were males.
The man at the edge of the building terrace asked, "Who accepted this contract?"
One lady stepped up and replied, "I did, One."
The man turned around to look at the lady and said, "Three, did you research the target before you accepted the contract?"
The lady nodded and said, "He does not seem to be a normal guy. His enemies just vanish all of a sudden."
Number one replied, "That means he has an expert helping him. Since that man cannot be found by the means of modern technology, it means that person is someone from the DEHB."
Number Three shook her head and said, "They would not protect a mortal. I have investigated in depth, he has no connection to the DEHB what so ever. However, there is indeed some expert watching over him."
One male asked, "One, we do not have much time, if we stay away from our real lives, it will raise alarms and the people will notice."
Number One nodded and replied, "Old Four, I know what you said is correct, but the prestige of Alpha Blade cannot be stained. We cannot fail any mission."
Number Four, sounded a bit ahead in age, and sighed, as he asked, "How do you want to do this then?"
Number One replied, "We will observe the target for two days, then we will discuss further action. Number Five, you will look at the vulnerabilities around the subject. Find a leverage point."
Number Five nodded, silently. Then they all vanished. Number One stayed at the top of the building for half an hour before he also left the place undetected.
...
Hao Ren had received the material and was now carving out beads as big as a bodhi seed. His hands were stable and his operation was smooth. After an hour, he finished four beads, this meant four chances at life.
Hao Ren was about to get happy when Han Lingshi came over, and asked, "Ren, what are you doing?"
Hao Ren told her what he was doing, and the lady frowned, she said, "Xiao Mei, from this moment on, you are going to monitor every human being from every mean possible within the three kilometer radius of me, Ren and Agni."
Xiao Mei replied, "Yes, Madam."
Han Lingshi then went on to say, "The people who cannot be detected have two methods to do so. One is to avoid using technological devices. Two is to have a second identity and buy the devices they need from black markets.
You will find such people, and if you find anyone who does not have a mobile phone, you will tag them and follow them. You will find out their identity and tell us. Alright?"
Xiao Mei replied, "Yes, Madam."
Hao Ren had to say that he did not expect such a solution to such a case. Han Lingshi could even thing of a way to locate and identify these people. He was too worried for the people around and that was why he was casting Jade beads. The two of them balanced the equation, made up for what the other lacked.
Han Lingshi picked up one bead and asked, "I also want these."
Hao Ren smiled and replied, "I will make you a bead bracelet and a pair of ear rings, identical to that of Agni. It will become a matching set. Then you girls can twin."
Han Lingshi smiled and nodded. She could see Hao Ren was very good and carving and then when he became focused, she left him to rest for the day. The focused look of her husband was a killer move that made her feel butterflies in her stomach.
Hao Ren spent the entire night making beads, and the new day began. He stood up from the spot and stretched a bit before drinking the bottle of spirit rejuvenation potion as he looked out on the horizon and said, "The Battle is about to begin. I hope you are a good enemy."